This invention relates generally to musical instruments and more particularly has reference to drums.
Different types of percussion instruments in the form of drums are available for producing sounds. Various means of tuning drums are also available. Drums usually have cylindrical bodies with drum heads at one or both ends. Drums are conventionally tuned by shortening or lengthening bolts extending through hoops which stretch the drum heads over the open ends of the drum. The bolts are received in fixed lugs.
Pertinent United States and foreign patents are found in Class 84, subclasses 304, 411, 411A, 413, 415, 421, 422, 430, 432, 442, 454, 458, and Digest 18 of the Official Classification of Patents in the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
Examples of pertinent patents are
______________________________________ U.S. Pat. Nos. 283,352 674,550 804,347 973,661 1,090,426 1,312,771 1,356,193 1,609,786 1,722,032 1,980,876 2,074,193 2,173,443 2,495,451 2,617,325 3,021,743 3,113,481 3,185,013 3,215,019 3,215,021 3,439,573 4,048,895 4,112,807 Design Patent No. 229,776 Foreign Patent Numbers Austrian 87,629 British 592,979 and 815,297 French 695,192 German 510,976 Italian 430,279. ______________________________________
Relevant drum shapes and tensioning apparatus are also disclosed in my co-pending application Ser. No. 945,032, filed Sept. 22, 1978, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,244,265.
A number of the foregoing patents are of interest for their disclosures of drum shapes.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,980,876 shows a drum having concavely curved sidewalls.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,112,807 and French Pat. No. 695,192 show drums having cylindrical portions and truncated conical portions.
German Pat. No. 510,976 shows a drum having an inverted cone shaped drum body.
U.S. Pat. No. Des. 229,776 shows a bass kettle for a muscial drum having a slanting cylindrical drum body and a closed curved end.
Application Ser. No. 945,032 shows a drum body having a first sidewall section sloping slightly inward and a second sidewall section sloping inward from the first sidewall section at a substantially greater angle than the first sidewall section.
The remaining patents are of interest for their disclosures of tensioning mechanisms.
U.S. Pat. No. 674,550 shows a drum head tightening mechanism wherein screws are provided with an enlarged head or collar and an angular or square extension. The head is adapted to rest in a recessed countersunk portion in the top of an angle plate.
U.S. Pat. No. 973,661 shows a drum head tightener which uses clips comprising a hook-shaped extremity adapted to project over and engage the outer edge of a drum encircling ring
U.S. Pat. No. 1,722,032 shows a series of hoops used to connect turn buckles. The hoops provide counter-tension.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,090,426 shows a drum head tightening mechanism which uses a series of bar posts.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,113,481 shows a snare drum. A ring around the drum has raised portions. The raised portions provide retention. for the tightening elements.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,609,786 shows a snare strainer. An adjusting screw is threaded into a post.
Single lever tuning devices are shown in British Pat. No. 592,979, British Pat. No. 815,297, Italian Pat. No. 430,279, Austrian Pat. No. 87,629 and U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,021,743, 1,356,193, 4,048,895 and 2,173,443.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 804,347, 1,312,771, 283,352, 3,439,573, 3,215,021, 2,074,193, 3,185,013, 3,215,019, 2,495,451 and 2,617,325 show a variety of tensioning mechanisms for drums.